Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1887-07-07
IN THE EARTH'S BOWELS.
EXPERIENCE OF FOUR MEN BURIED 4
QUARTER OF A MILE DEEP.

Nothing But Bit of Machinery Betwee
Them and Death Story of Charles Goatcl
One of Those Caught in Chamber of til
Alta Mine When 1t Was Flooded Praye,
Offered by Women During the Hours B,
fore the Rescue Was Accomplished.
A man with big white hat, a flan
mel shirt, and heavy mountain suit @
clothes on sat in the reading-room O
McCoy's Hotel last evening. He wa
restless kind of man. He wandcre,
to the newspaper files. roamed over t,
the ice-water tank, over to the cga
stand, and finally he sat down ant
began to smoke. Something in hi
appearance attracted the attention O
another man, who happened in, ant
he walked up to the first individual
and said: "Your name is Charley
Goatch, if | mistake not You were
once in Virginia City. You worked in
the Southcnd mines, didn't you?" The
man rose and indicated with nod OF
the head that his questioner was right
Mr.. Goatch is a man of fifty or more.
He had worked in the Bonanza mines
for years. and was known as a faithful
servant at 81 day for eight hour
work-threc cight-hour shifts. The
man who had interrupted his reverie
was recognized as having been con-
nected with the Virginia CITY papers.
and the two sat down for a chat Mr..
Goatch said: You know when the
Bonanza began to peter well, then
| went down 10 work for Super.nten-
dent Boyle Mt the Alta. That's away
down, you know. below Gold H II. l
saw the Tribunc's story about that old
Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. OF
course it's wonder. | never was in it.
although I've lived half my life in caves;
but if the man who wrote that story
would come TO me could tell story
that would make his hair graycr than
mine. You remember the story of the
Alta Mine? You were there"
Great Scott! were you one of those
four men?' was asked
II was. Didn't you ever know 1t P
Look at my hair"
The miner was. indeed, perma-
nently gray.
You couldn't get me into the NAM
moth or any other cave now," he said.
II wouldn't 60 into mine for 81, 00O,-
coo unless | could see bucket and a
rope"
And then the miner told his story.
In 1878 he was working in the Alta
Mine, at Virginia City, New The
mine was an assessment propo sition-
that is it was worked by contributions
of Stockholders, enforced, of course,
by law. Not dollar of bullion had
ever come out, yet assessments had
sent the shaft down 1850 feet and put
up a plant in machinery worth $780,
900. Drifts were run one hundred
feet to lap the edge. and at each of
those stations was commodious
chamber.
The Alta Mine was always full of
water" sad the miner. "She was the
wettest thing I'd ever worked in. The
big pump, that cost $3.50 900. had more
than she could do without driving to
keep the water down. 1t was in May,
1873, that a blast down on the 1,75O
lnloosed water. pocket that drove
everybody to the cages. They rushed
up the shaft and were all right. But
nobody seemed to remember little
shift Of four men at work in south
,ross-cut from the 1.65O-level. We
was drivin' in to catch the foot wall of
he ledge. and to do that we ran
halfway upraise. I'll just draw you
4 little sketch here to show YOU what
| m coming at.
You see the shaft s perpendicular
|. $50 feet down. At the 1850 stat on
'ur cross-cut goes of on an upraise.
OH see the little chamber where we
we're at work. Now, when the blast
'iS Ut wv II 'co uIilDOscl IHc wafer
md the flood came it rose so fast in
he main shaft that the men who knew
Ill about it had hard work to got away.
n the excitement we were forgotten.
The water rose in the shaft to $3.50 in
10 time and came into our cross cut.
The men on top sent down cages for
Is, but before they could get there the
water washed ahead of them.
just then the big pump. under all
he extra stain on it, broke down, and
very body said the four men left in the
nine would be drowned. | was one
If the four Bill Benthan was shift
Joss, and Jim Allen and Phil Dough.
rty were the other two. We had set
he diamond on two drills. in the face
II the cross-cut, when Jim Allen says:
It's kind O. close in here Dougher-
y stepped down the drift about fifty
eet, and yelled: My Col, boys!
Water. The cross-cut is flooded and
he water is coming up an inch min
tie" Bill Benthan jumped down the
ncline, and there she was-water COM
ng sp like an overlooked sewer. Bill |
was man that never quailed |
much. but he kind of sidled up 10 me,
nd he sad: Goatch, we're cached |
setter say prayers. Somethin's wrong
N top, and we're in for it,
ut did seem just then rs if something
lwful had happened. didn't know
What il was. i knowed the water had |
ONE up TO shut us off; but how much |
urther it might come nobody could |
now. We all knew the cause of it.
We knew that the mine had been flood |
d or the pump had broke. The dia-
nond was going all right, though. and
We knew that the force was all right,
nd tho connection good. The blower
hat gave us air was also workin'. |
think of that little blower drivin' air |
own to us 1850 feet straight and over
lree hundred feet further in the drift.
'rctty soon the air that drove the dia- |
nond drills stopped. Then we did get |
cared. Bill Benthan went down to the |